The most exciting current research in developmental neurobiology comes from the advent of molecular biological tools to mark cells at different stages of development and identify genes that regulate those stages. These emerging studies stand at the core of the new neurobiology, one where development of the nervous system has begun to be seen in the more general context of the development of the embryo. The major problems in development and in brain dysfunction are the mechanisms by which cell classes are specified, the mechanisms underlying cell patterning during regional histogenesis (migration, synaptogenesis), and the identification of genes that control these processes. The overarching goal of this meeting is to bring together scientists working in the area of developmental neurobiology and those using genetic approaches to understand human neurodevelopmental abnormalities and to create animal models of neurologic diseases. This conference will provide a unique forum for disciplinary cross-fertilization, as no other meeting has sought to combine these powerful approaches to neuroscience. Neuroscientists will be exposed to a variety of animal models they can appropriate for their own specialized approaches, and geneticists will gain appreciation for the subtleties of cellular neuroscience and nervous system development. This in turn will allow them to perform more informed analyses of their own animal models. This meeting will thus accelerate genetic studies on human brain formation and provide a critical forum for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to be trained in this nascent area of neuroscience.